Tech town hit hard

Information Technology Minister Debesh Das said although the IT sector recorded less attendance,the BPO sector recorded cent per cent attendance.

“Since the BPOs work round-the-clock,there was near complete attendance and it was only the IT sector,which was slightly affected. Even in places like Bangalore,the BPO sector shuts down completely during a bandh,which is not the case in Bengal,” said Das.

“Most of us were picked up from home and many people who stayed far away had put up at nearby guesthouses and hotels. Most of us came to office by 6 am so that we do not get stuck in the strike,” said a TCS employee. “But I heard one of our employees was heckled near Dum Dum and he had to walk seven-eight kms.”

Many of the offices will remain open on Saturday to make up for Friday’s loss. Most of those who had client delivery reports to be submitted had to come for work on Friday. An employee of Cognizant claimed that most of the people who managed to come reported to office before 6 am. Debjani Das,an employee of SPANCO BPO Services Ltd said: “Since our shift starts at 7 am,we are never provided with a pick up but the office arranged for one today and we all came in by 6 am.”

All those people who reported to work were caught on their way back home with no transport being available in the evening. Even the few autos and rickshaws that were available in Sector V charged almost double the normal rate. “We have to ask for more money as we have braved the bandh to bring out the rickshaws,” said Tarun Das,an auto-rickshaw driver.